WEBVTT 00:00:07.880 --> 00:00:11.099 Hey guys, this is Tracy. If at any time you'd 00:00:11.099 --> 00:00:15.019 like to connect with HCV, go to hcv .church forward 00:00:15.019 --> 00:00:18.100 slash connect. If you feel called to give, go 00:00:18.100 --> 00:00:21.980 to hcv .church forward slash give. And if at 00:00:21.980 --> 00:00:23.920 any time you feel called to make a change in 00:00:23.920 --> 00:00:29.399 your life, text change me to 970 -00. Enjoy the 00:00:29.399 --> 00:00:33.399 message. Hey, good morning, everyone. Everyone's 00:00:33.399 --> 00:00:36.840 favorite, Mr. Rick, right? Bringing you the Gen 00:00:36.840 --> 00:00:38.960 Z report. If you're joining us from home, thank 00:00:38.960 --> 00:00:42.140 you for welcoming us into your space. Hey, just 00:00:42.140 --> 00:00:43.619 a couple things I want to challenge you with. 00:00:43.700 --> 00:00:46.799 I just checked the board. As Mr. Rick was saying, 00:00:46.939 --> 00:00:52.039 we have 14 spots to fill. That's it. So 14 spots. 00:00:53.079 --> 00:00:57.340 Remember, our goal. It's one week of 24 -7 prayer 00:00:57.340 --> 00:01:00.700 where for every hour for an entire week, we're 00:01:00.700 --> 00:01:02.340 praying for our community of faith. We're praying 00:01:02.340 --> 00:01:04.299 for our local community, the nation, the world. 00:01:04.739 --> 00:01:07.319 I saw one person that had signed up. They put 00:01:07.319 --> 00:01:10.099 online, hey, I'm going to be praying an hour 00:01:10.099 --> 00:01:13.459 for 24 -7. Do you have any requests? And people 00:01:13.459 --> 00:01:17.079 are putting requests into her message box, and 00:01:17.079 --> 00:01:19.560 she's going to be praying for them. So just sign 00:01:19.560 --> 00:01:22.260 up. We have 14 spots left. If you still want 00:01:22.260 --> 00:01:24.640 to do it and there's a spot taken, Partner with 00:01:24.640 --> 00:01:27.579 somebody and come with them and pray together. 00:01:27.739 --> 00:01:31.239 Now, if you signed up and you did not get an 00:01:31.239 --> 00:01:33.640 email from Rudy, that means you're not in our 00:01:33.640 --> 00:01:36.239 system. He sent an email, either it was yesterday 00:01:36.239 --> 00:01:38.260 or this morning, to everybody that signed up. 00:01:38.260 --> 00:01:40.500 So check your emails. If you didn't get that, 00:01:40.560 --> 00:01:43.159 it gives you details of how to get in, what to 00:01:43.159 --> 00:01:46.480 unlock, your code, all those things. And if you 00:01:46.480 --> 00:01:50.140 didn't get that email, see him today. And it's 00:01:50.140 --> 00:01:53.709 very important. Last year, we overwhelmed Turner 00:01:53.709 --> 00:01:56.750 Skate Palace for our skate night. We had hundreds 00:01:56.750 --> 00:01:59.310 of people show up, which is a good thing. So 00:01:59.310 --> 00:02:01.329 now we want hundreds of people to show up at 00:02:01.329 --> 00:02:04.269 two different time slots. So get your ticket 00:02:04.269 --> 00:02:07.329 to be a part of the family skate night at the 00:02:07.329 --> 00:02:11.349 Welcome Hub. Now, I normally don't do this, but 00:02:11.349 --> 00:02:13.750 because of the direction that I feel God leading 00:02:13.750 --> 00:02:17.710 this gathering, I'm going to share the words 00:02:17.710 --> 00:02:20.349 of knowledge right now. Okay, that way if you 00:02:20.349 --> 00:02:22.629 hear them and you think, oh, that's me, their 00:02:22.629 --> 00:02:24.110 prayer team will be up here at the end of the 00:02:24.110 --> 00:02:28.090 gathering to pray for you. And you'll understand 00:02:28.090 --> 00:02:31.030 why I'm doing it now in a little bit. So you 00:02:31.030 --> 00:02:34.289 have a painful big toe. You have an injured or 00:02:34.289 --> 00:02:38.030 damaged ear. You have left elbow pain. You have 00:02:38.030 --> 00:02:40.590 pain in the jaw or teeth that moves into the 00:02:40.590 --> 00:02:44.699 ear. Right wrist joint. is painful you have complications 00:02:44.699 --> 00:02:47.120 with your intestines it's causing dull pain in 00:02:47.120 --> 00:02:49.340 your stomach and you have pain associated with 00:02:49.340 --> 00:02:52.000 shingles so if any of those are you at the end 00:02:52.000 --> 00:02:53.800 of this gathering we will pray for you and believe 00:02:53.800 --> 00:02:57.319 that god wants to heal for heal you now as i 00:02:57.319 --> 00:03:00.039 was praying for our sunday gatherings this week 00:03:00.039 --> 00:03:03.699 listen my spirit was full of expectation for 00:03:03.699 --> 00:03:05.500 what god wanted to do in and through us today 00:03:05.500 --> 00:03:08.219 so i'm going to pause i'm going to invite the 00:03:08.219 --> 00:03:12.439 holy spirit to come silence distractions Because 00:03:12.439 --> 00:03:16.460 I want you to be all in on this word. Holy Spirit, 00:03:16.500 --> 00:03:22.439 come. Speak to us, God. We are listening. God, 00:03:22.520 --> 00:03:25.560 we silence distractions in Jesus' name. Open 00:03:25.560 --> 00:03:28.580 our minds, ears, and hearts to receive all that 00:03:28.580 --> 00:03:35.280 you have for us. God, transform us. Amen. So 00:03:35.280 --> 00:03:37.840 listen, I want to remind you this talk is for 00:03:37.840 --> 00:03:40.250 you. It's not for your neighbor. It's not for 00:03:40.250 --> 00:03:42.229 your spouse. It's not for the people in front 00:03:42.229 --> 00:03:47.229 of you. This talk is for you and me. See, God 00:03:47.229 --> 00:03:49.490 wants to give us a fresh vision for this new 00:03:49.490 --> 00:03:52.270 year that I believe will transform our daily 00:03:52.270 --> 00:03:56.050 routines, our daily schedules into abundant encounters 00:03:56.050 --> 00:03:59.729 with the living God. But for that to take place, 00:03:59.930 --> 00:04:03.330 we need a fresh vision for our lives. We need 00:04:03.330 --> 00:04:05.349 a fresh encounter with God that will set our 00:04:05.349 --> 00:04:08.439 hearts on fire. for all that he's called us to 00:04:08.439 --> 00:04:11.699 do. Helen Keller, who lost her sight and hearing 00:04:11.699 --> 00:04:14.740 at an early age, distinguished between physical 00:04:14.740 --> 00:04:18.120 sight and inner vision by saying this, the only 00:04:18.120 --> 00:04:21.279 thing worse than being blind is having sight 00:04:21.279 --> 00:04:27.639 but no vision. Having sight but no vision. I 00:04:27.639 --> 00:04:29.500 believe that's a wake -up call to the church. 00:04:30.300 --> 00:04:33.439 It's a challenge for us to wake up and live lives 00:04:33.439 --> 00:04:37.589 with purpose and meaning. Now, I've noticed every 00:04:37.589 --> 00:04:40.810 single week you turn in prayer requests. And 00:04:40.810 --> 00:04:42.709 as a community of faith, we love it when you 00:04:42.709 --> 00:04:45.430 do that. We've got a team full of people who 00:04:45.430 --> 00:04:47.509 are called to pray over those requests every 00:04:47.509 --> 00:04:50.689 single week. But here's what I've noticed. Week 00:04:50.689 --> 00:04:53.269 after week, most of the time, people have prayer 00:04:53.269 --> 00:04:57.689 requests for things directly impacting them or 00:04:57.689 --> 00:05:00.389 their loved ones. It's, God, I need a breakthrough 00:05:00.389 --> 00:05:03.410 in my finances. God, would you heal my grandmother? 00:05:03.430 --> 00:05:05.829 Would you? Help me get into this dream school. 00:05:06.569 --> 00:05:08.990 God, would you help me find a job? I need a job, 00:05:09.069 --> 00:05:12.250 God. Would you lead me in a decision I need to 00:05:12.250 --> 00:05:15.329 make? I need you, God. And listen, we should 00:05:15.329 --> 00:05:18.230 absolutely continue to pray those prayers. But 00:05:18.230 --> 00:05:20.410 instead of just praying, God, would you do this 00:05:20.410 --> 00:05:24.649 or do that for me? A dangerous way to pray is, 00:05:24.810 --> 00:05:30.509 God, what can I do for you? God, what can I do 00:05:30.509 --> 00:05:34.529 for you? Not just God bless me, keep me safe, 00:05:34.790 --> 00:05:38.990 but God I'm your servant. And I'm available for 00:05:38.990 --> 00:05:42.889 whatever you want me to do. Now this prayer is 00:05:42.889 --> 00:05:46.009 called the prayer of availability. And I believe 00:05:46.009 --> 00:05:48.689 this will be a foundational talk for many of 00:05:48.689 --> 00:05:51.829 you. And some of you think, well what's a foundational 00:05:51.829 --> 00:05:54.529 talk? Well over the course of your lifetime, 00:05:54.790 --> 00:05:57.829 I believe if you're in a relationship with Jesus, 00:05:57.910 --> 00:06:01.319 there will be certain messages or talks. that 00:06:01.319 --> 00:06:04.759 when you hear them, you encounter God in such 00:06:04.759 --> 00:06:06.800 a way it literally changes the trajectory of 00:06:06.800 --> 00:06:10.899 your life. Changes what you do. You'll say, before 00:06:10.899 --> 00:06:15.899 that moment, I remember it, I was bored. I was 00:06:15.899 --> 00:06:19.560 stuck. I was going through a routine. Fill in 00:06:19.560 --> 00:06:23.100 the blank. But when I heard that message, God 00:06:23.100 --> 00:06:25.699 spoke to me, and my life has never been the same. 00:06:25.959 --> 00:06:29.389 I believe that's what today is. The prayer of 00:06:29.389 --> 00:06:32.370 availability is a dangerous prayer. And when 00:06:32.370 --> 00:06:34.490 you pray this prayer, God could move you in a 00:06:34.490 --> 00:06:37.389 lot of different ways. He may reveal a calling 00:06:37.389 --> 00:06:40.370 in your life that you never expected before to 00:06:40.370 --> 00:06:42.949 happen. He might lead you to get a different 00:06:42.949 --> 00:06:46.610 job. He might call you to serve somewhere in 00:06:46.610 --> 00:06:51.910 our community of faith, like the nursery. He 00:06:51.910 --> 00:06:55.199 may lead you to go to a different city. He may 00:06:55.199 --> 00:06:57.300 call you to serve a group of people that are 00:06:57.300 --> 00:06:59.759 very different than you. Don't look the same. 00:07:00.160 --> 00:07:02.660 Don't act the same. Have nothing in common with 00:07:02.660 --> 00:07:06.759 them, but you're called to serve them. He may 00:07:06.759 --> 00:07:08.660 move you to break up with the person you're in 00:07:08.660 --> 00:07:10.379 a relationship with right now because it's not 00:07:10.379 --> 00:07:13.740 God's best. And I don't know what it could be, 00:07:13.819 --> 00:07:15.860 but I do know when you make yourself available 00:07:15.860 --> 00:07:19.100 to hear God's voice and pray dangerous prayers, 00:07:19.439 --> 00:07:24.600 he'll radically change your life. Now all throughout 00:07:24.600 --> 00:07:26.560 the Bible, from the old to the new, you're going 00:07:26.560 --> 00:07:29.500 to see that God calls people. And it doesn't 00:07:29.500 --> 00:07:33.959 mean that he literally calls their phone. It 00:07:33.959 --> 00:07:36.120 means he speaks to people. He prompts them. He 00:07:36.120 --> 00:07:38.519 moves them. He gives them pictures. He leads 00:07:38.519 --> 00:07:41.139 them to say something, to do something, to go 00:07:41.139 --> 00:07:43.779 somewhere, to encourage someone to speak truth. 00:07:45.139 --> 00:07:48.879 God will call those who know him to do something 00:07:48.879 --> 00:07:53.470 he wants done. We are his vessels. Now, there's 00:07:53.470 --> 00:07:55.709 several different responses to God's call, and 00:07:55.709 --> 00:07:57.750 I want to discuss four of them this morning. 00:07:57.829 --> 00:08:00.250 And the first response is this. We hear it from 00:08:00.250 --> 00:08:05.529 Samuel. Here I am. What is it? 1 Samuel 3, verses 00:08:05.529 --> 00:08:08.470 4 through 5. Suddenly, the Lord called out, Samuel, 00:08:08.610 --> 00:08:12.730 yes! Samuel replied, what is it? And notice, 00:08:13.029 --> 00:08:16.750 he got up and ran to Eli, who was his mentor. 00:08:17.149 --> 00:08:20.430 Here I am, Eli. Did you call me? I didn't call 00:08:20.430 --> 00:08:24.019 you, Eli replied. Go back to bed. So he did. 00:08:24.939 --> 00:08:27.920 So scholars believe that Samuel is probably around 00:08:27.920 --> 00:08:31.579 12 to 14 years old when God began speaking to 00:08:31.579 --> 00:08:35.919 him. And notice, Samuel did not know God's voice. 00:08:37.059 --> 00:08:40.159 He thought it was Eli's voice. And what does 00:08:40.159 --> 00:08:42.600 that mean to us? Fast forward to today, we live 00:08:42.600 --> 00:08:46.700 in a noisy culture, true or false. Whether it's 00:08:46.700 --> 00:08:50.159 the big game on the TV. And all the advertisements 00:08:50.159 --> 00:08:53.220 in between, our cell phones, music in the background, 00:08:53.320 --> 00:08:55.519 or even billboards on the side of the road were 00:08:55.519 --> 00:08:58.460 constantly bombarded with voices and distracted. 00:08:59.220 --> 00:09:01.740 And every one of those voices is telling us to 00:09:01.740 --> 00:09:04.559 do something, eat something, go somewhere, be 00:09:04.559 --> 00:09:08.019 somebody. And if we want to hear from God and 00:09:08.019 --> 00:09:11.000 do what he says, we must first put ourselves 00:09:11.000 --> 00:09:14.539 in the right surroundings. The main reason we 00:09:14.539 --> 00:09:17.320 don't hear God's voice clearly or know his voice 00:09:17.840 --> 00:09:20.320 It's not because he's not speaking, because he 00:09:20.320 --> 00:09:22.360 speaks to us every single day. It's because we're 00:09:22.360 --> 00:09:25.279 distracted or we're not listening. Or we're too 00:09:25.279 --> 00:09:28.700 busy. And that's why it's so important to put 00:09:28.700 --> 00:09:31.039 ourselves in the right surroundings to hear God 00:09:31.039 --> 00:09:33.799 and listen. And it's not just about the right 00:09:33.799 --> 00:09:35.600 time and place, it's about our relationships 00:09:35.600 --> 00:09:38.840 as well. I firmly believe and I challenge you 00:09:38.840 --> 00:09:41.419 every single Sunday to give time to God every 00:09:41.419 --> 00:09:44.620 single day. To have daily devotions. To put your 00:09:44.620 --> 00:09:47.399 phones on hold or silence or whatever it may 00:09:47.399 --> 00:09:50.759 be. To get an devotional plan where you're reading 00:09:50.759 --> 00:09:53.940 through the Bible. And to daily pray and communicate 00:09:53.940 --> 00:09:56.840 to God all the time throughout your day. You 00:09:56.840 --> 00:09:58.399 say, what does it mean to pray to God? Talk to 00:09:58.399 --> 00:10:02.519 him. Share your heart with him. Jeremiah 29, 00:10:02.659 --> 00:10:07.200 13 says, you will seek me and find me when you 00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:09.700 seek me with your whole heart. And listen, if 00:10:09.700 --> 00:10:12.659 you're distracted, you're not going to seek God 00:10:12.659 --> 00:10:15.629 with your whole heart. But we also need to do 00:10:15.629 --> 00:10:18.289 life together. It's not just about our devotions. 00:10:18.590 --> 00:10:21.029 We need to invest in each other so that we can 00:10:21.029 --> 00:10:23.490 pray for and encourage one another to recognize 00:10:23.490 --> 00:10:27.110 the voice of God. This past Friday morning, if 00:10:27.110 --> 00:10:28.870 you would like to join us for the next two weeks, 00:10:28.909 --> 00:10:32.490 6 a .m. prayer here every morning. I led that 00:10:32.490 --> 00:10:36.350 morning prayer. My focus, prayer focus, was on 00:10:36.350 --> 00:10:38.909 worship. So we listened to our worship song, 00:10:39.129 --> 00:10:41.190 and then we walked through the auditorium and 00:10:41.190 --> 00:10:44.360 prayed. We listened to another worship song and 00:10:44.360 --> 00:10:46.320 we walked through every seat and prayed over 00:10:46.320 --> 00:10:49.960 every seat and every stage and every worship 00:10:49.960 --> 00:10:52.259 team member and tech team member. We prayed over 00:10:52.259 --> 00:10:56.500 them all. Then we listened to another song. And 00:10:56.500 --> 00:10:59.500 then had everybody sit in the hot seat. And we 00:10:59.500 --> 00:11:01.200 broke into groups of four and we prayed for each 00:11:01.200 --> 00:11:04.179 person. Laid hands on. And you say, well, Chris, 00:11:04.279 --> 00:11:05.539 why'd you do that? I thought you were praying 00:11:05.539 --> 00:11:09.139 for worship. Well, I saved time at the end, 15 00:11:09.139 --> 00:11:11.379 minutes where we prayed for one another because 00:11:11.379 --> 00:11:14.019 we need to hear from one another and God uses 00:11:14.019 --> 00:11:17.159 us to speak through us. We need to be in community. 00:11:18.139 --> 00:11:21.179 If you're not connected in community, you're 00:11:21.179 --> 00:11:24.480 missing an opportunity to hear God's voice. Which 00:11:24.480 --> 00:11:26.519 leads us to our second response. Good old Jonah. 00:11:27.399 --> 00:11:32.519 Here I am. I'm not going. Jonah chapter 1 verses 00:11:32.519 --> 00:11:34.700 2 through 3. Get up and go to the great city 00:11:34.700 --> 00:11:37.470 of Nineveh. Announced my judgment against it 00:11:37.470 --> 00:11:40.049 because I have seen how wicked its people are. 00:11:40.129 --> 00:11:43.690 But Jonah, good old Jonah, got up and went in 00:11:43.690 --> 00:11:45.909 the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. 00:11:46.769 --> 00:11:50.830 What did Jonah do? Jonah ran away from God. He 00:11:50.830 --> 00:11:55.710 said, here I am, God. No way, I'm not gone. And 00:11:55.710 --> 00:11:58.649 we all laugh. And we all point fingers at Jonah. 00:11:59.210 --> 00:12:02.429 And we think, how could he do that? But I wonder 00:12:02.429 --> 00:12:04.889 how many of us have had similar experiences. 00:12:05.769 --> 00:12:08.950 You feel prompted to do something. Hey, I'm supposed 00:12:08.950 --> 00:12:11.409 to reach out. I'm supposed to encourage and pray 00:12:11.409 --> 00:12:16.169 for the person sitting beside me. But I don't. 00:12:16.889 --> 00:12:21.350 Here I am, God. Oh, I'm too busy. Sorry. I'm 00:12:21.350 --> 00:12:24.070 not doing it. I can almost guarantee that all 00:12:24.070 --> 00:12:25.769 of you that are in a relationship with Jesus 00:12:25.769 --> 00:12:29.570 had times this week, just this past week, that 00:12:29.570 --> 00:12:32.289 God prompted you to do something. Maybe you were 00:12:32.289 --> 00:12:34.980 convicted of a sin that you know is wrong. The 00:12:34.980 --> 00:12:36.679 Holy Spirit was speaking to you, challenging 00:12:36.679 --> 00:12:40.460 you, saying, Chris, say no, say no. But the temptation 00:12:40.460 --> 00:12:44.419 was too much, and you chose to indulge. You know 00:12:44.419 --> 00:12:47.600 what that is? Here I am, God. Oh, I'm not listening. 00:12:49.840 --> 00:12:53.559 Maybe you were called to give a $5 McDonald's 00:12:53.559 --> 00:12:55.539 gift card to the guy standing at the street holding 00:12:55.539 --> 00:12:59.539 a sign, I'm homeless. And you wonder, and you 00:12:59.539 --> 00:13:02.720 pray for him or her. And God prompts you, give 00:13:02.720 --> 00:13:04.240 them a gift card so they can have some food. 00:13:04.679 --> 00:13:08.039 And you just drive right by. Maybe God brought 00:13:08.039 --> 00:13:09.899 a friend or family member to mind. You were supposed 00:13:09.899 --> 00:13:13.779 to simply reach out, text them, call. And you 00:13:13.779 --> 00:13:16.620 got distracted and forgot. Maybe there's a co 00:13:16.620 --> 00:13:18.539 -worker or classmate that needed a high five 00:13:18.539 --> 00:13:22.600 and a smile. But you were running late and you 00:13:22.600 --> 00:13:26.169 missed the opportunity. Maybe, just maybe, God 00:13:26.169 --> 00:13:28.450 wanted many of you to attend our 6 a .m. prayer 00:13:28.450 --> 00:13:31.009 gatherings with our community of faith, but guess 00:13:31.009 --> 00:13:34.269 what? You're too insecure believing that you 00:13:34.269 --> 00:13:36.190 can't pray in front of people so you don't show 00:13:36.190 --> 00:13:40.629 up. You know what that is? That's, hey God, here 00:13:40.629 --> 00:13:46.210 I am, but I'm not doing it. And we point fingers 00:13:46.210 --> 00:13:48.649 at Jonah and we make fun of Jonah when in reality 00:13:48.649 --> 00:13:51.450 we're just like him. Which leads us to our third 00:13:51.450 --> 00:13:57.000 response. Good old Moses. Here I am. Send someone 00:13:57.000 --> 00:14:01.860 else. Exodus 3, 10 through 11. Now go, for I 00:14:01.860 --> 00:14:03.799 am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people, 00:14:03.879 --> 00:14:07.919 Israel, out of Egypt. But Moses protested to 00:14:07.919 --> 00:14:11.019 God. Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am 00:14:11.019 --> 00:14:13.039 I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt? 00:14:13.860 --> 00:14:17.980 This is a call that Moses agreed needed to happen. 00:14:18.059 --> 00:14:21.740 He knew his people had to be freed from the slavery 00:14:21.740 --> 00:14:25.889 in Egypt. But instead of saying, sure, God, I'll 00:14:25.889 --> 00:14:29.590 go, what's he say? Send someone else. I'm not 00:14:29.590 --> 00:14:32.769 good enough. Who am I? I'm not talented enough. 00:14:33.289 --> 00:14:36.169 Who am I? Someone would be a better person to 00:14:36.169 --> 00:14:38.830 speak and share your truth. Send someone else, 00:14:38.850 --> 00:14:42.269 God, Exodus 4, 10 through 13. But Moses pleaded 00:14:42.269 --> 00:14:45.210 with the Lord. Oh, Lord, I'm not very good with 00:14:45.210 --> 00:14:47.730 words. I never have been, and I'm not now. Even 00:14:47.730 --> 00:14:50.169 though you have spoken to me, I get tongue -tied 00:14:50.169 --> 00:14:54.179 and my words get tangled. And look, Moses shares 00:14:54.179 --> 00:14:58.240 his concerns. God speaks back. Who makes a person's 00:14:58.240 --> 00:15:01.139 mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do 00:15:01.139 --> 00:15:03.159 not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not 00:15:03.159 --> 00:15:06.820 see? Is it not me? Is it not I, the Lord? Now 00:15:06.820 --> 00:15:10.120 go. I'll be with you as you speak, and I'll instruct 00:15:10.120 --> 00:15:13.559 you in what you have to say. Now, I don't know 00:15:13.559 --> 00:15:15.519 about you, but if I heard God speaking those 00:15:15.519 --> 00:15:18.799 words to me, I'd be like, let's go. Not Moses. 00:15:20.019 --> 00:15:22.980 Moses again pleaded. Lord, please send anyone 00:15:22.980 --> 00:15:27.539 else. And it's so easy for us to respond this 00:15:27.539 --> 00:15:30.100 way to God, especially in the American church, 00:15:30.179 --> 00:15:33.639 unfortunately, especially in the large church. 00:15:33.940 --> 00:15:35.940 You know, we're considered a large church now. 00:15:36.000 --> 00:15:38.159 We have to add extra chairs on Sunday morning. 00:15:38.659 --> 00:15:40.860 And so many people, when they show up to our 00:15:40.860 --> 00:15:43.039 community of faith, they think, oh, well, this 00:15:43.039 --> 00:15:44.799 church, they got it all together. They don't 00:15:44.799 --> 00:15:48.799 need me. I don't need to give. Let that person 00:15:48.799 --> 00:15:51.100 give. They got more money than me. I don't have 00:15:51.100 --> 00:15:55.559 any money. Dare I say that's a lie? That's the 00:15:55.559 --> 00:15:58.360 enemy lying to you? Because everyone in a relationship 00:15:58.360 --> 00:16:00.720 with Jesus is called to give, and it's not about 00:16:00.720 --> 00:16:04.419 the money. I don't talk about money that much. 00:16:04.440 --> 00:16:07.299 Many of you know that. And it's not about the 00:16:07.299 --> 00:16:09.279 money. I don't challenge you to give to our community 00:16:09.279 --> 00:16:11.840 of faith for the money. I challenge you to give 00:16:11.840 --> 00:16:16.299 for your heart. Jesus connects our money and 00:16:16.299 --> 00:16:19.149 how we spend it to our heart. And he says, hey, 00:16:19.190 --> 00:16:21.370 church, it's a heart issue. If you're not willing 00:16:21.370 --> 00:16:23.090 to give, if you're not willing to tithe, it's 00:16:23.090 --> 00:16:25.590 a heart issue. You're not fully surrendered to 00:16:25.590 --> 00:16:30.730 me. Or I hear, oh, Chris, I just don't have time 00:16:30.730 --> 00:16:34.870 to serve. I'm too busy. You mean I have to arrive 00:16:34.870 --> 00:16:36.809 30 minutes early to hold the door and welcome 00:16:36.809 --> 00:16:40.159 someone and smile? Oh, I have to show up 45 minutes 00:16:40.159 --> 00:16:43.000 early to make coffee and serve coffee? Wait a 00:16:43.000 --> 00:16:45.279 minute. You mean I got to come to the kids and 00:16:45.279 --> 00:16:47.879 teach them and then come to another gathering? 00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:51.759 Wow, Chris, I work all week. Hey, church, so 00:16:51.759 --> 00:16:57.639 do I. I work all week. I work a lot of hours 00:16:57.639 --> 00:17:01.220 in a week. But guess what? I show up. Because 00:17:01.220 --> 00:17:04.380 God's called me to show up. And God's called 00:17:04.380 --> 00:17:07.529 you to show up. And I'm tired of the excuses. 00:17:07.750 --> 00:17:11.150 We all have excuses. You know, I have to fix 00:17:11.150 --> 00:17:14.309 my refrigerator. My fence is broken right now. 00:17:14.390 --> 00:17:17.130 My fence. And I was going to fix it yesterday, 00:17:17.309 --> 00:17:20.450 but what did it do? It rained all day. I wasn't 00:17:20.450 --> 00:17:21.829 going to go out in the rain because many of you 00:17:21.829 --> 00:17:26.349 know if I go in the rain, I'll melt. I didn't 00:17:26.349 --> 00:17:29.369 want to go in the rain. So my fence is still 00:17:29.369 --> 00:17:32.130 falling over, waiting to be fixed on Monday when 00:17:32.130 --> 00:17:35.839 it's sunny. Okay, but the point is, I did not 00:17:35.839 --> 00:17:38.400 show up today. I did not serve today because, 00:17:38.480 --> 00:17:40.940 oh, I got to get to my fence. I got to do this. 00:17:41.000 --> 00:17:42.880 I got to do that at home. I have all these chores. 00:17:43.059 --> 00:17:45.319 Oh, wait a minute. I got to go relax. I got to 00:17:45.319 --> 00:17:48.440 ride my bike. I got to go on my four wheel. All 00:17:48.440 --> 00:17:52.319 good things. But when they get in the way of 00:17:52.319 --> 00:17:56.200 your relationship with God, they're bad. It's 00:17:56.200 --> 00:18:00.299 a sin. Call it what it is. Because if you're 00:18:00.299 --> 00:18:03.980 not serving, who's going to? Here I am, God. 00:18:04.680 --> 00:18:07.400 Send someone else. Which leads us to our final 00:18:07.400 --> 00:18:13.140 response. Go to Isaiah. Here I am. Send me. Then 00:18:13.140 --> 00:18:14.900 I heard the voice of the Lord saying, whom shall 00:18:14.900 --> 00:18:18.400 I send and who will go for us? Here I am. Send 00:18:18.400 --> 00:18:22.160 me. And notice, when Isaiah prayed this prayer, 00:18:22.480 --> 00:18:26.799 he did not say this. Where are you sending me? 00:18:27.740 --> 00:18:31.220 Is the weather nice? What about the cost of living? 00:18:31.519 --> 00:18:34.619 Pay range? I need a new job. Are there benefits? 00:18:35.480 --> 00:18:39.940 Wait, do I get vacation time? Like he didn't 00:18:39.940 --> 00:18:41.660 ask any of that. What did he do? He simply said, 00:18:41.740 --> 00:18:45.839 God, here I am. I'll say it together. Send me. 00:18:46.099 --> 00:18:51.359 Send me. So he said, send me. He was obedient. 00:18:52.039 --> 00:18:54.920 And I want to encourage you this week. I believe 00:18:54.920 --> 00:18:57.119 that God wants this to become a daily part of 00:18:57.119 --> 00:19:00.740 our prayer life. As soon as you wake up, right, 00:19:00.799 --> 00:19:05.920 you begin to pray. God. Give me my, give my mind 00:19:05.920 --> 00:19:08.579 to you. I give my mind to you. May my thoughts 00:19:08.579 --> 00:19:10.559 be like your thoughts. God, I give my eyes to 00:19:10.559 --> 00:19:13.680 you. May I look at people as you see them, not 00:19:13.680 --> 00:19:16.680 lust after them. I give my mouth to you. May 00:19:16.680 --> 00:19:20.480 I speak words of life. May I read your truth 00:19:20.480 --> 00:19:22.960 and live it. Not just read it and then go do 00:19:22.960 --> 00:19:26.200 something else. Here are my feet, send me. Here 00:19:26.200 --> 00:19:30.180 are my hands, use me. Essentially, God, here 00:19:30.180 --> 00:19:33.529 I am, send me. And I want to dare you. I want 00:19:33.529 --> 00:19:37.390 to challenge you this week, motivate you to pray 00:19:37.390 --> 00:19:39.230 a prayer like that. Hey, God, I'm available. 00:19:39.910 --> 00:19:43.309 You have permission to interrupt me. You have 00:19:43.309 --> 00:19:47.470 permission, God, to change my schedule. If you 00:19:47.470 --> 00:19:49.750 want me to say, I'll say. If you want me to speak, 00:19:49.910 --> 00:19:52.430 I'll speak. If you want me to shut up and be 00:19:52.430 --> 00:19:56.230 quiet, I'll listen. I want to give it away, God. 00:19:56.309 --> 00:19:59.259 I want to serve you. I want to use my time to 00:19:59.259 --> 00:20:01.839 follow you and point other people to you. Here 00:20:01.839 --> 00:20:05.220 I am. God, send me. And listen, it's an incredibly 00:20:05.220 --> 00:20:08.000 dangerous prayer. Because when you start praying 00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:10.259 like that, I guarantee you, you know what's going 00:20:10.259 --> 00:20:13.619 to happen? God's going to interrupt you. God's 00:20:13.619 --> 00:20:16.180 going to change your schedule. God's going to 00:20:16.180 --> 00:20:19.019 highlight an area of your life you need to change 00:20:19.019 --> 00:20:21.480 and get rid of it. God's going to point out a 00:20:21.480 --> 00:20:26.250 sin. God's going to invite you to retire early 00:20:26.250 --> 00:20:29.869 and get into ministry. Here I am, God. Send me. 00:20:30.750 --> 00:20:33.089 And some of you are thinking, okay, Chris, let's 00:20:33.089 --> 00:20:35.250 see it. I want to be bold this week. How do I 00:20:35.250 --> 00:20:37.849 get there? Three simple steps that we learn from 00:20:37.849 --> 00:20:42.710 Isaiah to surrender our lives to God. And the 00:20:42.710 --> 00:20:45.230 first is this. We need to experience the presence 00:20:45.230 --> 00:20:48.269 of God. Isaiah 6 .1, it was the year of King 00:20:48.269 --> 00:20:51.079 Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting 00:20:51.079 --> 00:20:53.079 on a lofty throne and the train of his robe filled 00:20:53.079 --> 00:20:55.160 the temple. What happened here? Remember, Isaiah 00:20:55.160 --> 00:20:58.279 was a young man. He was not yet a prophet. This 00:20:58.279 --> 00:21:01.720 was his calling into the ministry. And what did 00:21:01.720 --> 00:21:05.200 he do? He saw Jesus in all of his glory. Last 00:21:05.200 --> 00:21:08.099 week, I shared about the Bible teaching about 00:21:08.099 --> 00:21:10.220 angelic beings named Seraphim. The only time 00:21:10.220 --> 00:21:12.519 they appear in the Bible. And what were they 00:21:12.519 --> 00:21:14.519 doing? They were worshiping. They were praising. 00:21:14.619 --> 00:21:18.319 They were singing to God. Holy, holy, holy is 00:21:18.319 --> 00:21:20.579 the Lord God Almighty. And there's something 00:21:20.579 --> 00:21:23.819 powerful when people gather and sing. I was in 00:21:23.819 --> 00:21:26.079 the worship room for the last song, and just 00:21:26.079 --> 00:21:28.500 hearing your voices sing out to God brought me 00:21:28.500 --> 00:21:31.980 to tears. And that's what these angelic beings 00:21:31.980 --> 00:21:34.759 were doing. And when Isaiah saw the presence 00:21:34.759 --> 00:21:38.660 of God, that's the presence of God, church, when 00:21:38.660 --> 00:21:41.079 he experienced the glory of God, it transformed 00:21:41.079 --> 00:21:46.579 who he was. Why is it that you may not make yourself 00:21:46.579 --> 00:21:50.309 available to God? Well, perhaps it's because 00:21:50.309 --> 00:21:52.250 you haven't recently experienced his presence. 00:21:52.890 --> 00:21:55.490 You haven't made time for his presence. Or for 00:21:55.490 --> 00:21:56.890 some of you, you're in a relationship with God. 00:21:57.029 --> 00:21:59.210 You've never experienced the presence of God. 00:22:00.829 --> 00:22:02.690 Listen, I've been pastoring this church for nearly 00:22:02.690 --> 00:22:05.450 20 years now. It'll be 20 years this Easter. 00:22:06.430 --> 00:22:09.390 And many of you have commented on our weekend 00:22:09.390 --> 00:22:12.990 of rest that we shared a few weeks ago. Jess 00:22:12.990 --> 00:22:16.369 and I made a video sharing the story of HTV and 00:22:16.369 --> 00:22:20.259 everything. we've been through, the places we've 00:22:20.259 --> 00:22:22.859 been, and I've heard from many of you saying 00:22:22.859 --> 00:22:24.880 you appreciated the honesty and the transparency 00:22:24.880 --> 00:22:30.400 of the story of HTV. You commented on how awesome 00:22:30.400 --> 00:22:33.460 it was to see Phoenix wipe tears from my wife's 00:22:33.460 --> 00:22:37.319 face as she shared her heart and was vulnerable. 00:22:38.440 --> 00:22:42.420 But can I be brutally honest with you? It's been 00:22:42.420 --> 00:22:45.190 a very difficult journey to get here. Everybody 00:22:45.190 --> 00:22:47.869 sees our community of faith and praises it and 00:22:47.869 --> 00:22:50.049 talks about the explosion and everything that 00:22:50.049 --> 00:22:54.430 God's doing and 55 people baptized. But in 20 00:22:54.430 --> 00:22:57.150 years, there's been many ups and downs. There's 00:22:57.150 --> 00:23:00.769 been a lot of tears shed. There's been seasons 00:23:00.769 --> 00:23:02.829 where I didn't think I was going to make it. 00:23:03.430 --> 00:23:07.150 Whether it be anxiety, heartbreak, personal attacks 00:23:07.150 --> 00:23:10.789 on me personally, my family, my character, on 00:23:10.789 --> 00:23:13.809 my physical body, on my family's physical body. 00:23:14.720 --> 00:23:19.400 Each and every time those attacks or that stress 00:23:19.400 --> 00:23:23.380 or that heartache happened, I had to back away 00:23:23.380 --> 00:23:27.099 and renew my connection with God. I had to escape. 00:23:27.180 --> 00:23:30.519 I had to get in my car and drive and just listen. 00:23:31.339 --> 00:23:36.539 I had to work out extra hard because that's where 00:23:36.539 --> 00:23:40.440 I hear from God. See, the presence of God brought 00:23:40.440 --> 00:23:43.269 me to a deeper place of real submission. Made 00:23:43.269 --> 00:23:46.289 me realize, Chris, it's all worth it. Lives are 00:23:46.289 --> 00:23:51.329 being changed for eternity. God, I've been with 00:23:51.329 --> 00:23:54.410 you, and I'm your servant. Anything you want, 00:23:54.549 --> 00:23:57.789 I will do. And many of you know from the testimony 00:23:57.789 --> 00:24:02.210 of that video, we do it. I mean, just this past 00:24:02.210 --> 00:24:06.009 year, I'm going to bring this up gently, because 00:24:06.009 --> 00:24:07.529 next year it's probably going to happen again. 00:24:08.230 --> 00:24:11.109 So I played the video, and then that same day 00:24:11.109 --> 00:24:14.130 I get a call. Chris! What are the chances of 00:24:14.130 --> 00:24:17.190 doing a polar bear baptism tomorrow? I'm like, 00:24:17.329 --> 00:24:21.890 oh, man. So New Year's Day, I was in the Potomac 00:24:21.890 --> 00:24:28.609 River. Baptizing somebody. God bless you, John. 00:24:32.190 --> 00:24:40.130 And it was cold. But the point is, it was all 00:24:40.130 --> 00:24:43.119 because of what God wanted to do. Now some of 00:24:43.119 --> 00:24:44.440 you may say, that's never really happened to 00:24:44.440 --> 00:24:47.079 me before, Chris. And I want to tell you right 00:24:47.079 --> 00:24:49.819 now, it can happen to you today. 1 Corinthians 00:24:49.819 --> 00:24:52.099 3 .16, don't you realize that all of you together 00:24:52.099 --> 00:24:53.859 are a temple of God and the Spirit of God lives 00:24:53.859 --> 00:24:57.160 in you? Friends, you don't have to be in the 00:24:57.160 --> 00:24:58.799 middle of a crisis to experience the presence 00:24:58.799 --> 00:25:01.339 of God. That verse right there tells us that 00:25:01.339 --> 00:25:03.880 if you're in a relationship with Jesus, right, 00:25:04.019 --> 00:25:06.799 the Holy Spirit lives inside of you. There is 00:25:06.799 --> 00:25:09.799 no more... Old Testament temple where the presence 00:25:09.799 --> 00:25:12.539 of God rests. That has now been shifted. The 00:25:12.539 --> 00:25:15.960 New Testament temple is you and me. So we literally 00:25:15.960 --> 00:25:18.039 have the very presence of God. And you say, well, 00:25:18.059 --> 00:25:19.980 Chris, what is that? Raiders of the Lost Ark. 00:25:20.119 --> 00:25:21.960 Does everybody remember Raiders of the Lost Ark? 00:25:22.440 --> 00:25:25.359 Throwback, right? Remember that ark? Everyone 00:25:25.359 --> 00:25:28.099 remember the ark and the destruction and the 00:25:28.099 --> 00:25:34.319 power? Where does that live now? In you. In you. 00:25:35.599 --> 00:25:37.700 Not that you're going to go out and destroy someone, 00:25:37.900 --> 00:25:42.900 but that you release God's power in you and through 00:25:42.900 --> 00:25:46.980 you. And listen, experiencing the presence of 00:25:46.980 --> 00:25:50.119 God doesn't happen here on Sunday mornings. You 00:25:50.119 --> 00:25:51.619 could be driving in your car, listening to a 00:25:51.619 --> 00:25:53.519 worship song, and suddenly the presence of God 00:25:53.519 --> 00:25:56.259 comes over you. You start weeping, and you realize 00:25:56.259 --> 00:25:59.200 God is in my car. You could be praying for your 00:25:59.200 --> 00:26:03.400 five -year -old son in his bedroom. praying a 00:26:03.400 --> 00:26:05.500 prayer of blessing over his life as he goes to 00:26:05.500 --> 00:26:07.720 sleep and realize the presence of God is in this 00:26:07.720 --> 00:26:11.599 bedroom. And you begin weeping and sobbing. See, 00:26:11.680 --> 00:26:13.339 when you invite the Holy Spirit to come alive 00:26:13.339 --> 00:26:15.619 inside of you, it can happen at any point, in 00:26:15.619 --> 00:26:17.859 any place, no matter what is happening. And guess 00:26:17.859 --> 00:26:26.519 what? No one has to push you over. So maybe you're 00:26:26.519 --> 00:26:28.799 not able to pray a dangerous prayer because you 00:26:28.799 --> 00:26:30.359 haven't experienced the presence of God yet. 00:26:31.210 --> 00:26:33.230 Because when you experience the presence of God, 00:26:33.349 --> 00:26:37.450 not just do you experience him, but you get full 00:26:37.450 --> 00:26:40.369 of joy, Psalm 16. You will show me the way of 00:26:40.369 --> 00:26:46.769 life, granting me the joy of your presence and 00:26:46.769 --> 00:26:49.789 the pleasures of living with you forever. See, 00:26:49.829 --> 00:26:51.789 unfortunately, in the church world, some people 00:26:51.789 --> 00:26:53.470 are afraid of the Holy Spirit because of past 00:26:53.470 --> 00:26:57.589 experiences or rumors or churches that you've 00:26:57.589 --> 00:27:00.640 been in or whatever it may be. There's nothing 00:27:00.640 --> 00:27:04.660 to be afraid of. It's the very living presence 00:27:04.660 --> 00:27:07.700 of God that just speaks to your heart and allows 00:27:07.700 --> 00:27:10.940 you to change. But when the presence of God comes, 00:27:10.980 --> 00:27:13.160 number two, you have awareness of your sinfulness. 00:27:14.359 --> 00:27:16.579 See, currently one of the biggest cultural lies 00:27:16.579 --> 00:27:19.140 that people believe today is, I'm a good person. 00:27:19.799 --> 00:27:23.140 You're a good person. She's a good person. We're 00:27:23.140 --> 00:27:26.640 good people. Look all over social media. Can 00:27:26.640 --> 00:27:29.960 I be brutally honest with you? Without Jesus, 00:27:30.079 --> 00:27:34.140 I'm not a good person. In fact, without Jesus, 00:27:34.240 --> 00:27:39.519 I'm pathetic. We're not good people. In fact, 00:27:39.519 --> 00:27:43.019 without Jesus, we're pathetic sinners. And in 00:27:43.019 --> 00:27:45.960 the eyes of God, who is holy, remember, holy, 00:27:46.119 --> 00:27:50.299 holy, holy, God can't relate to sin and brokenness. 00:27:50.920 --> 00:27:55.160 Right? And I know from experience, 23 years of 00:27:55.160 --> 00:28:00.180 experience, Before Jesus, I was a horrible person. 00:28:00.460 --> 00:28:05.200 I was selfish, mean, rude, disrespectful, angry, 00:28:05.440 --> 00:28:09.160 upset, addicted, anything to take away the pain. 00:28:10.480 --> 00:28:14.160 I wasted a quarter of my life being a horrible, 00:28:14.279 --> 00:28:19.599 sinful, pathetic individual. Welcome to HTV, 00:28:19.619 --> 00:28:21.880 where I build you up and encourage you to get 00:28:21.880 --> 00:28:31.450 closer to God. Friends, that's the truth. Our 00:28:31.450 --> 00:28:34.869 natural sin nature is self. We're consumed with 00:28:34.869 --> 00:28:38.029 ourselves and selfishness. And when we're consumed 00:28:38.029 --> 00:28:41.710 with selfishness, it leads us to making bad choices. 00:28:42.650 --> 00:28:45.450 Right? I just started my fourth year journey 00:28:45.450 --> 00:28:48.210 through the Bible. I've already completed three 00:28:48.210 --> 00:28:49.890 straight years of reading through the entire 00:28:49.890 --> 00:28:52.509 Bible. I'm on my fourth year. And man, I'm in 00:28:52.509 --> 00:28:55.630 Jacob right now. I tell you what. You want to 00:28:55.630 --> 00:28:59.059 realize how pathetic. People are, just read about 00:28:59.059 --> 00:29:04.599 Jacob. I mean, he lied, cheated, stole, manipulated, 00:29:05.339 --> 00:29:09.299 got in a wrestling match with God and lost. I 00:29:09.299 --> 00:29:12.579 mean, he's pathetic. But yet God used him and 00:29:12.579 --> 00:29:17.440 his family to what? He was the line that Jesus 00:29:17.440 --> 00:29:21.500 was born into. And see, it was when Isaiah saw 00:29:21.500 --> 00:29:24.299 the goodness of God, he realized his negativity 00:29:24.299 --> 00:29:27.200 and sin. Isaiah 6, 5. Then I said, it's all over. 00:29:27.299 --> 00:29:29.480 I am doomed for I am a sinful man. I have filthy 00:29:29.480 --> 00:29:31.960 lips and I live among a people with filthy lips. 00:29:32.019 --> 00:29:34.079 Yet I've seen the King, the Lord of heaven's 00:29:34.079 --> 00:29:38.380 armies. Now, other versions, I took other versions, 00:29:38.559 --> 00:29:41.500 NIV, message, and I compiled them all. Listen 00:29:41.500 --> 00:29:45.299 to this. Other versions read like this. I'm done. 00:29:45.480 --> 00:29:48.180 I'm nothing. I'm pathetic. I'm a sinner. I have 00:29:48.180 --> 00:29:51.420 nothing to offer. He's holy, I'm not. He's righteous, 00:29:51.559 --> 00:29:54.160 I'm unrighteous. He's full of glory, I'm full 00:29:54.160 --> 00:29:56.400 of sin. Woe to me, I'm ruined, for I'm a man 00:29:56.400 --> 00:29:58.779 with unclean lips, and I live among a people 00:29:58.779 --> 00:30:01.740 of unclean lips, which we know is true, and my 00:30:01.740 --> 00:30:06.039 eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty. See, 00:30:06.079 --> 00:30:07.920 what does it take to get to a place of fully 00:30:07.920 --> 00:30:09.940 surrendering to God and saying, here I am, send 00:30:09.940 --> 00:30:13.220 me? It takes a genuine experience with his presence, 00:30:13.380 --> 00:30:15.740 and it takes a genuine awareness that we are 00:30:15.740 --> 00:30:18.730 sinful people. Now, if you're in a relationship 00:30:18.730 --> 00:30:21.130 with Jesus, listen, I'll declare over you, you're 00:30:21.130 --> 00:30:24.109 a son and daughter of God. You don't have to 00:30:24.109 --> 00:30:26.130 continue to be a sinful person. It's a choice 00:30:26.130 --> 00:30:30.750 now. James writes it this way in chapter 4, verse 00:30:30.750 --> 00:30:34.869 8. Come close to God, and God will come close 00:30:34.869 --> 00:30:37.349 to you. But when he comes close to you, notice, 00:30:37.650 --> 00:30:40.849 wash your hands, you sinners. Purify your hearts, 00:30:40.890 --> 00:30:43.230 for your loyalty is divided between God and the 00:30:43.230 --> 00:30:46.859 world. Which leads us to our final step. We have 00:30:46.859 --> 00:30:50.039 to understand God's grace. And when you understand 00:30:50.039 --> 00:30:52.700 just how amazing the grace of God is, it brings 00:30:52.700 --> 00:30:54.799 you to a point of fully surrendering. Isaiah 00:30:54.799 --> 00:30:58.779 6, 6 or 7. Then one of the seraphim flew to me 00:30:58.779 --> 00:31:01.240 with a burning coal he had taken from the altar 00:31:01.240 --> 00:31:02.900 with a pair of tongues. He touched my lips and 00:31:02.900 --> 00:31:05.059 said, this coal has touched your lips. Now your 00:31:05.059 --> 00:31:06.900 guilt is removed and your sins are forgiven. 00:31:06.940 --> 00:31:11.039 With one touch. From the goodness of God, from 00:31:11.039 --> 00:31:13.160 the presence of God, his sins were forgiven. 00:31:13.259 --> 00:31:17.150 He was completely restored. Imagine this, church. 00:31:17.589 --> 00:31:21.450 Your lying lips, forgiven. Your lustful attitudes, 00:31:21.789 --> 00:31:24.150 forgiven. Your self -centered thoughts, forgiven. 00:31:24.470 --> 00:31:27.289 Your angry outbursts, forgiven. Your secret sin 00:31:27.289 --> 00:31:32.890 that nobody knows about, but God does. Forgiven. 00:31:33.789 --> 00:31:37.109 As if they had never happened, Psalm 103. He 00:31:37.109 --> 00:31:58.089 does not punish us. See, when we confess our 00:31:58.089 --> 00:32:01.089 sins to God, He is faithful and just to forgive 00:32:01.089 --> 00:32:04.029 us of all sins and cleanse us from unrighteousness. 00:32:04.720 --> 00:32:08.039 We don't bring anything, church. Jesus did everything. 00:32:08.460 --> 00:32:11.180 And when we sense God's presence, when we're 00:32:11.180 --> 00:32:14.240 aware of our sinfulness, and we experience the 00:32:14.240 --> 00:32:17.819 undeserved grace of God, the only reasonable 00:32:17.819 --> 00:32:23.440 response is Isaiah 6, 8. Here I am, God. Send 00:32:23.440 --> 00:32:26.660 me. One of the most dangerous prayers you can 00:32:26.660 --> 00:32:30.579 pray. God, I'm all yours. Anywhere. Anytime. 00:32:31.440 --> 00:32:37.190 Anyplace. For. And listen, this isn't a begrudgingly, 00:32:37.210 --> 00:32:39.329 oh man, I gave my life to Jesus, now I gotta 00:32:39.329 --> 00:32:43.130 serve God. No, it's, I'm in love with Jesus. 00:32:43.710 --> 00:32:47.630 I wanna give him everything. And it's not a one 00:32:47.630 --> 00:32:50.210 -time prayer that you prayed in 2002 and got 00:32:50.210 --> 00:32:54.250 baptized in 2004. See, church, it's a daily prayer 00:32:54.250 --> 00:32:59.990 of saying, God, here I am, send me. But you must 00:32:59.990 --> 00:33:02.750 realize when we pray those prayers, there's a 00:33:02.750 --> 00:33:05.730 war inside of our bodies. The Bible calls it 00:33:05.730 --> 00:33:09.970 the flesh. And it's not your skin. It's your 00:33:09.970 --> 00:33:13.150 selfish desires in your heart. And you have the 00:33:13.150 --> 00:33:15.130 selfish desires in your heart and you have the 00:33:15.130 --> 00:33:17.490 spirit side. And they're at war with one another. 00:33:19.450 --> 00:33:21.670 And when the flesh wins, and you say, well, what 00:33:21.670 --> 00:33:24.170 does it mean the flesh wins? Give me, give me, 00:33:24.210 --> 00:33:27.700 give me. I need to consume. I need more. I need 00:33:27.700 --> 00:33:30.799 new. I need this. I need that. Give me, give 00:33:30.799 --> 00:33:37.240 me, give me. The flesh one. I'm not going to 00:33:37.240 --> 00:33:40.779 do that, God. My life's too important. I'm not 00:33:40.779 --> 00:33:43.920 going to do that, God. I'm busy. Somebody else 00:33:43.920 --> 00:33:50.180 can do it. Anybody but me. I can't talk. I don't 00:33:50.180 --> 00:33:53.460 know the Bible. Excuse after excuse after excuse. 00:33:53.660 --> 00:33:56.559 Instead, Instead of making an excuse, you deny 00:33:56.559 --> 00:34:01.180 yourself. Paul writes it this way. My old self 00:34:01.180 --> 00:34:03.779 has been crucified with Christ. It's no longer 00:34:03.779 --> 00:34:06.220 I who live, but Christ who lives in me. So I 00:34:06.220 --> 00:34:08.440 live in this earthly body by trusting the Son 00:34:08.440 --> 00:34:10.059 of God who loved me and gave himself for me. 00:34:11.199 --> 00:34:15.900 And when we battle with the Spirit against the 00:34:15.900 --> 00:34:19.500 flesh and we crucify it, that we become a church 00:34:19.500 --> 00:34:24.679 that says, yes, God, send us. Yes, God. Send 00:34:24.679 --> 00:34:30.179 us. But unfortunately, so many people are afraid 00:34:30.179 --> 00:34:33.420 to pray that dangerous prayer. Break me, God. 00:34:34.539 --> 00:34:37.760 Search me. Change me. Send me. Use me. They're 00:34:37.760 --> 00:34:40.460 all dangerous prayers. And so many people are 00:34:40.460 --> 00:34:42.639 afraid to pray those prayers because they think 00:34:42.639 --> 00:34:44.840 if they pray those prayers, God's going to send 00:34:44.840 --> 00:34:47.960 them somewhere to Africa to use a toilet that 00:34:47.960 --> 00:34:49.760 they'll never use like they have here in the 00:34:49.760 --> 00:34:54.980 United States. And here's the reality. Yes, that 00:34:54.980 --> 00:34:56.920 may happen because I have a son that's doing 00:34:56.920 --> 00:35:00.420 it right now. But chances are, you know what 00:35:00.420 --> 00:35:03.920 God wants to do with you? He wants you to be 00:35:03.920 --> 00:35:07.320 a good dad and a good mom to your kids. He wants 00:35:07.320 --> 00:35:10.519 you to make time for them and coach them and 00:35:10.519 --> 00:35:13.500 pray for them and love them and lift them up 00:35:13.500 --> 00:35:16.940 and serve them because you're the example of 00:35:16.940 --> 00:35:19.400 Jesus to them. And you know what he wants you 00:35:19.400 --> 00:35:21.280 to do? He wants you to love your wife and to 00:35:21.280 --> 00:35:24.019 love your spouse. And he wants you to go into 00:35:24.019 --> 00:35:26.340 your workplace and treat it like it's Africa. 00:35:27.340 --> 00:35:30.559 And find people that are hurting and broken and 00:35:30.559 --> 00:35:34.659 in need and you become Jesus to them. That's 00:35:34.659 --> 00:35:36.599 what he's calling you to do. And we're afraid 00:35:36.599 --> 00:35:40.000 to pray dangerous prayers because we think we're 00:35:40.000 --> 00:35:41.960 not good enough. And I'm here to declare over 00:35:41.960 --> 00:35:43.639 you, all of you, it doesn't matter if you're 00:35:43.639 --> 00:35:45.260 in a relationship with Jesus or not, you're good 00:35:45.260 --> 00:35:51.699 enough. Because when the love of God comes over 00:35:51.699 --> 00:35:56.380 you and you experience the Holy Spirit, you'll 00:35:56.380 --> 00:35:59.420 be transformed into a new person, a new creation, 00:35:59.619 --> 00:36:02.320 and you'll never go back to those old ways because 00:36:02.320 --> 00:36:06.420 you want to be used and empowered by God. Will 00:36:06.420 --> 00:36:12.980 you stand with me? Now remember what I said. 00:36:13.920 --> 00:36:19.260 Listen. Today's special. This is a foundational 00:36:19.260 --> 00:36:23.519 day for some of you. We're not even near being 00:36:23.519 --> 00:36:26.480 done, so don't pack your stuff up. Put it under 00:36:26.480 --> 00:36:30.880 your chair. Hide it. Throw your keys out the 00:36:30.880 --> 00:36:38.519 window. We're going to pray a simple prayer like 00:36:38.519 --> 00:36:40.380 we always do because I believe God brings people 00:36:40.380 --> 00:36:43.079 into our church, into our midst, into our gatherings 00:36:43.079 --> 00:36:44.900 that are distant, far from God, have walked away 00:36:44.900 --> 00:36:46.719 from God, have never been in a relationship with 00:36:46.719 --> 00:36:49.070 Him. And we don't single you out. We all pray 00:36:49.070 --> 00:36:52.989 it together. Amen? So if that's you, I invite 00:36:52.989 --> 00:36:56.869 you to pray that with me right now. Jesus, I'm 00:36:56.869 --> 00:37:02.150 broken. I'm full of doubt, shame, regret, sin. 00:37:03.010 --> 00:37:07.610 Change me. Forgive me. I believe you're God's 00:37:07.610 --> 00:37:12.230 son. I believe you died for me. Make me new. 00:37:12.789 --> 00:37:17.869 Set me free. Fill me with your spirit, God. Help 00:37:17.869 --> 00:37:22.730 me, God, to serve others. In Jesus' name, amen. 00:37:23.349 --> 00:37:25.010 So if you prayed that prayer for the first time, 00:37:25.050 --> 00:37:28.070 listen, welcome to the family. See us, text me, 00:37:28.110 --> 00:37:30.110 do something so I can get you baptized, so I 00:37:30.110 --> 00:37:32.429 can get you started on this journey. We love 00:37:32.429 --> 00:37:36.949 you. Welcome, welcome. Come back every single 00:37:36.949 --> 00:37:40.429 week. But now, like I said, for some of you, 00:37:40.469 --> 00:37:42.590 this is a foundational moment in your relationship 00:37:42.590 --> 00:37:45.090 with Jesus. As I was praying for all of you this 00:37:45.090 --> 00:37:48.769 week, I felt like God wanted to release his presence 00:37:48.769 --> 00:37:51.510 into your life that some of you have never experienced 00:37:51.510 --> 00:37:54.630 the tangible presence of God. You're afraid of 00:37:54.630 --> 00:37:58.010 it. You're intimidated by it. It's kind of unknown. 00:37:58.329 --> 00:38:01.469 You're not really sure what to do about it. Listen, 00:38:01.590 --> 00:38:04.590 that's your lifeline. That's your source. And 00:38:04.590 --> 00:38:06.769 I believe God wants to bring it alive inside 00:38:06.769 --> 00:38:10.010 of you this morning. But listen, it takes a step 00:38:10.010 --> 00:38:13.289 of faith. So I'm going to open up the front. 00:38:14.289 --> 00:38:18.659 You heard the... The words of knowledge, if any 00:38:18.659 --> 00:38:21.099 of those are you, this is your time. But for 00:38:21.099 --> 00:38:22.739 the rest of you, the worship team is going to 00:38:22.739 --> 00:38:25.920 lead us in worship. But if you want to experience 00:38:25.920 --> 00:38:31.139 the tangible presence of God, or you need a refilling 00:38:31.139 --> 00:38:33.320 or a refreshing, I'm going to invite you to come 00:38:33.320 --> 00:38:40.460 right now. Just come up front. Come Holy Spirit. 00:38:46.480 --> 00:39:02.500 Come on. Come on. Come on. Come Holy Spirit. 00:39:03.460 --> 00:39:11.980 That's it. Plenty of room. Plenty of room. Now 00:39:11.980 --> 00:39:14.840 listen, for the rest of us, we're going to worship. 00:39:17.449 --> 00:39:20.070 And as you worship, God may convict you of something 00:39:20.070 --> 00:39:23.369 you need to get up here. God may reveal something 00:39:23.369 --> 00:39:26.309 to you you need to get up here. Doesn't mean 00:39:26.309 --> 00:39:27.670 that just because you didn't come forward now 00:39:27.670 --> 00:39:32.369 doesn't mean you won't. It means be open to what 00:39:32.369 --> 00:39:36.010 God wants to do for you. Amen? Let's sing together. 00:39:47.309 --> 00:39:49.250 for life for mine if the warrants turn water 00:39:49.250 --> 00:39:51.809 into wine please fix my heart things inside